Disclaimer: Just to warn any readers of the squeamish persuasion…this chapter begins with a somewhat citrusy dream. Not really a lemon…more of a tangerine…maybe a cumquat. And it takes a turn into the decidedly…weird. So, you've been warned.
Fox and Hound
Chapter Seven
Autumn in Trabia…beautiful as always. Trabian autumns were REAL autumns--not like in Galbadia. Back home, everything just seemed to dry up and turn brown--there wasn't even a break from the hellish heat. But in Trabia, the hills around home seemed to burn as flame-colored foliage transformed the trees into torches.
Irvine strolled through the woods that surrounded his--well, Vonnie's, actually--home, enjoying the feel of the crisp autumn wind against his skin. Exeter slung casually over his shoulder, the marksman made a leisurely patrol of the area--not many monsters in these parts, but you could never be too careful. This morning, however, not so much as a bitebug disturbed the tranquility of the countryside.
Vonnie had taken Mistral out for a ramble earlier, and the pair would probably end up at what Irvine called "Vonnie's thinkin' spot"--a small meadow clearing on the hill overlooking the house they shared. His lover often climbed up there when she felt the need for solitude--but Irvine was always welcome, as well. Whatever she sought to escape by making the climb, it wasn't him--for which he was eternally grateful.
The marksman turned onto the little footpath that led up the hillside, planning to meet his love and her four-footed companion. Before he even made it to the clearing, Irvine could hear Mistral's excited barks and yips and the silver trill of Siobhan's laughter. Upon entering the clearing, Irvine broke into a smile as well at the sight that met his eyes.
Siobhan--battle-hardened huntress, trash-talking wench, and all-around tough cookie--raced madly around the clearing as if a torama (instead of a 150 pound puppy in a wolf suit) was on her tail. The redhead suddenly dashed off to the side of the clearing and dove headlong into a pile of leaves. Red, yellow, orange, and umber foliage erupted into the air, followed by Mistral as the wolf launched himself skyward, snapping at the flying leaves. From her nest, Siobhan threw handfuls of leaves into the air for the wolf to catch.
Grinning, the sniper broke into a run, heading towards the leafpile. Dropping Exeter lightly to the ground, Irvine performed a spectacular belly-flop, landing partially on top of his startled lover. Rolling onto his side, the cowboy propped his head on one arm and gave Siobhan a mischievous grin.
"Stupid weatherman didn't say nothing about it raining over-sexed cowboys," Siobhan muttered, throwing a handful of leaves at Irvine.
"Or 'bout findin' willin' redheads in leaf piles," Irvine drawled, reaching out to tuck a brilliant yellow leaf in the mahogany mane.
"An' who sez ah'm willin?" Siobhan challenged, mimicking her lover's Galbadian accent, the barest hint of a smile playing about the corners of her mouth.
"Me, that's who," Irvine growled, pulling the huntress to him for a searing kiss. Apparently, his assessment was correct because slender hands impatiently pushed his coat from his shoulders, nimble fingers unzipped his vest, splayed over his bare chest.
Clothes shed away like water, leaving behind only warm, bare skin. Soft sighs and murmurings and the crackle of dried leaves were the only sounds audible in the clearing. The scent of jasmine and cloves vied with the sharp tang of the autumn air. Arms and legs tangled in a lovers' knot, tying the pair together with bonds of mutual passion.
Irvine pulled Siobhan into his lap, his breath hitching in his chest as he slipped into her warmth. Long slender legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him in deeper. His eyes slid closed as velvet lips burned against his own. Breathing his lover's name like a prayer, Irvine clasped Siobhan close, rocking into her gently, soaring aloft on currents of pleasure and desire.
Long fingers suddenly tangled in his hair, yanking his head back roughly. Irvine's eyes flew open in surprise, and the sniper found himself confronting a nightmare.
A hideous parody of his lover's face leered down at him. Siobhan's rich ivory skin had bleached to a sickly corpse-white. Twin black lightning bolts slashed down her face from the forehead to the corners of plum-black lips that writhed back in a snarl, revealing a set of glistening white fangs. A black, forked tongue flickered obscenely at him.
"TRAITORRR!" the Siobhan-thing hissed at him, her eyes burning like white-hot embers within the depths of the black markings that streaked down her face. Irvine didn't even have time to give voice to the scream building inside him before the creature's head whipped forward, sharp fangs ripping into the soft flesh of his exposed throat. The world disappeared in a cloud of mahogany hair and the spray of his own blood.
Irvine jolted awake, biting back a sharp cry as awareness of his surroundings came back to him.
Tisiphone…ah, FUCK!
Had Irvine lived anything even remotely resembling a normal life, he would probably have dismissed his dream as nothing more than an ordinary nightmare--frightening, disturbing, but ultimately meaningless. However, the sniper had not lived an ordinary life, and the three months he'd spent being thrust willy-nilly into the past, courtesy of Ellone, had given him a respect for dreams that he might not have possessed otherwise.
Is that bitch awake again? Is that why you left me, Vonnie? Is that what you're scared of?
Rogue GF, demon, monster, evil spirit…Irvine didn't know exactly what Tisiphone was. Neither did Vonnie. Neither did Jared--and it was his fault that Siobhan had been saddled with the damn thing in the first place.
THAT'S NOT EXACTLY FAIR, Diablos gently rebuked the sniper. KANE WOULD NEVER KNOWINGLY PLACE SIOBHAN IN DANGER.
It was true, of course, but that knowledge did nothing to stem Irvine's resentment against his lover's adoptive father. The man was an archeologist, a scholar; he should have been more prepared--he should have known what he was sending Vonnie into. He should have taken better care of his daughter.
An' what about you, Kinneas ol' pal? You didn't do much better…
That was true as well. The cowboy had been able to do nothing but hold his lover and desperately shout for help, as Siobhan convulsed and thrashed madly in his arms, vainly trying to fight off the force that was inexorably invading her.
********************
"Look at these rocks, Irv. Look at how they make everything…sparkle."
Siobhan stood before him, gazing around the cave in wonder. Smiling, she waved a hand through the air. Irvine gazed at his lover, entranced; as blue sparks shimmered in the wake of the slender arm as it moved through space.
"Let's get a sample of this for the geologists," she said, retrieving a small pick and a sample bag from her pack. "I'll bet they've never seen anything like this before."
As Siobhan approached the cave wall, the stones began to glow a brighter blue. Irvine had the unsettling idea that the color looked somehow…hungry.
"Vonnie," he said nervously, "maybe you should wait for the rest of the team--they're the professionals after all, darlin'."
The redhead snorted in derision. "I think I've been on enough digs to take a simple rock sample without starting a cave-in," she laughed.
But it wasn't the possibility of a cave-in that worried Irvine. It was the evil-looking glow emitted by the cave wall--and the way that the stones seemed to burn brighter as his lover drew closer.
Sparks trailed after Siobhan like a comet's tail as she turned and reached out a hand…the stones' glow intensified.
"No!" Irvine shouted, "Don't touch it, Vonnie!"
Too late. A bolt of bright light shot from the stone and into Siobhan's outstretched hand. The lithe body stiffened; mouth and eyes widened into perfect Os of shock. The sniper was already moving, running towards his lover to drag her out of harm's way.
The sudden cessation of the bolt sent Siobhan reeling backwards toward Irvine. The redhead slammed into him with enough force to send them both crashing to the ground. The cowboy didn't even attempt to regain his footing, but instead scooted towards the cave's mouth, long legs pistoning, bootheels digging into the ground, dragging the unconscious Siobhan with him.
After a seeming eternity, Irvine's frantic shouts brought half the dig running. Including Jared.
"What the hell happened?" the archeologist cried, his eyes dark with worry as he gazed at his stricken daughter.
Irvine explained, and then the two men spent the next five minutes blaming each other. The argument grew more heated, and the two might have come to blows if Finn hadn't defused the situation by suggesting that they should postpone their fight until after they had attended to the unconscious woman. Shamed by the chauffeur's rebuke, Irvine and Jared cooperated long enough for them to get Siobhan into an ATV and head back to camp. Irvine had argued that she should be taken to a hospital, but Jared firmly vetoed that idea, sparking another heated argument between the two. The cowboy had never quite forgiven the archeologist for further endangering Vonnie by failing to get any sort of medical care for her. Fortunately, the huntress had come around shortly after they returned to camp.
Upon returning to consciousness, Siobhan tried to explain what had happened--how… something…had reached out to her as she reached out to take the sample. And how that something had burrowed into her mind, making itself at home.
"Like junctioning a GF," she'd said, "except it was more like the damn thing had junctioned me." Siobhan had tried to unjunction it; Irvine had tried to draw it, to see if he could somehow get rid of it, but the bitch refused to budge. Its name was Tisiphone, it had terminal PMS, and it really, REALLY, didn't like Irvine.
The next day, Jared sent a team out to examine the cave. They found that each of the glowing stones contained a life-form--probably similar to the thing that had attacked Siobhan. Irvine had listened in disgust as Jared began planning an excavation of the cave.
"You're just gonna release those things?" he asked incredulously. "Dammit to hell, Jared, one of those things damn near killed your daughter--"
"Please Irv--" Vonnie murmured, giving the marksman's shoulder a comforting squeeze, "I'm all right--"
But Irvine refused to be placated. "No thanks to Dad!" he said angrily, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at the older man.
"Of course I'm not going to release them," Jared said, pacing back and forth across the tent. "And I'm perfectly aware of the seriousness of what happened to Siobhan, but--"
"But nothing!" the marksman exploded, leaping to his feet and rounding furiously on the archeologist. "Those things should be fucking nuked, and you know it!"
"Destroy what could possibly be the most important discovery in Centran studies to come along in over fifty years?" Jared asked. "Absolutely not." He gave Irvine a superior look, "I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand."
A flush of anger spread over the sniper's cheeks. Jared had never made a secret of the fact that he had hoped that his daughter would make a better choice in life partners than Irvine--a drifter who'd never even finished school.
Clenching his fists, Irvine would probably have taken a swing at the archeologist if Siobhan hadn't suddenly interposed herself between the two men.
"Stop it!" she snapped, glaring at each in turn, her eyes dark as thunderclouds, preparing to cloud up and rain over them both. "Both of you, just shut up! I'm tired of watching the two of you go at each other like a pair of fucking tomcats!" With a flick of her long titian braid, Siobhan turned and stormed out of the tent.
With a final glare at Jared, Irvine followed Siobhan out of the tent, hoping to make peace with her. Bad idea. He should have given her more time to cool off, because the redhead merely sailed into him all over again. After his lover had finished yelling at him, the sniper simply nodded, hooked his thumbs in his beltloops, and walked away, shoulders slumped in dejection. A moment later, two slender arms wrapped around his waist, embracing him from behind.
"I love you, Cowboy," Siobhan assured him, giving his neck a nuzzle that sent an electric tingle coursing down his spine. "But stop being an asshole, okay? And try to get along with Jared? I can't stand you two always being at each others' throats." Dropping a warm kiss onto the back of his neck, Siobhan reached up, yanked Irvine's hat down over his face, and stepped back, releasing him. When he turned to face her, the redhead was nowhere to be found.
"I hate it when you do that!" he called to the surrounding emptiness. The only reply he received was a throaty chuckle that floated to him across the still desert night.
If Vonnie had engaged Drake's Encounter None ability, she obviously wished for privacy. The knowledge that he was one of the things she was avoiding gave Irvine a slight pang, but he respected her wishes and didn't follow--even though he could plainly see the line of slim footprints etched into the desert floor. Besides, he had a little task to perform, himself.
Irvine crossed the camp stealthily, making his way to the supply tent. The sniper made his way past crates of shovels, picks, whisk brooms, and brushes to what he sought. Stuffing a small package of plastique, a detonator, and a timer into his coat pocket, the sniper left the tent and headed back to the cave.
********************
It had been eighteen months since the ill-fated Centra dig. Needless to say, the destruction of the cave had done nothing to improve the relationship between Irvine and Jared. As a result of his action, the sniper found himself aboard the next train home. Vonnie, Hyne bless her, had opted to return with him rather than remaining at the site with Jared. Of course, Irvine had been happy about that, but…fuck, it had been a long ride back.
Siobhan herself seemed no worse for the wear--most of the time, at least. During the months that followed, Irvine would occasionally feel his lover's eyes on him. Upon meeting her gaze, the marksman often found flint-hard grey eyes glaring at him malevolently, his beloved's face twisted into a mask of fury and hatred, barely recognizable as that of the woman he loved. It would only last a moment, and then his Vonnie would be back, not even aware that "the Other", as she called her unwanted hitchhiker, had momentarily taken over. That, more than anything else, terrified the marksman. Who the fuck knew what it would do if it ever seized control from its unwilling hostess? Fuck, it could do anything--leaving Vonnie to bear the consequences.
Despite its momentary awakenings, however, Tisiphone had slept most of the time--but, if Irvine's dream meant anything, the bitch was wide awake now. And apparently, it wasn't too happy with him. The gunman had never been sure why the creature bore him such a grudge. Perhaps it hated him because he was one of the things keeping Vonnie grounded, or perhaps, it just hated everything. Whatever the reason for its hostility, if his dream could be trusted, Tisiphone felt that Irvine had betrayed Vonnie in some way. But how? Vonnie had been the one who walked out--not him. If anyone should feel betrayed, it was Irvine.
Could it have anything to do with that damn mission?
That had to be it. According to her letter, it was the reason Vonnie had left him--but how was that a betrayal? His assignment had been to assassinate a sorceress and a terrorist--it had nothing whatsoever to do with his lover. Shit. The sniper could feel the answer taunting him, just out of reach.
Irvine shook his head and stared blankly out the darkened train window, futilely willing the train to proceed more quickly toward its destination. With a guilty glance across the aisle, he retrieved the pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket. The businessman had gone, either getting off at an earlier stop, or simply moving to another car--one that didn't contain a half-mad sniper. At any rate, Irvine was alone in the passenger car. Lighting his cigarette, he leaned back against his seat, wearily exhaling a thick plume of fragrant smoke. It was all too much for him to figure out. Hell, he'd never been much of a thinker anyway.
Seeking to distract his endlessly tail-chasing thoughts, Irvine absently reached for the report that rested on the seat beside him. Although he had turned his back on his assignment, he flipped idly through the folder, hoping to find a long, dry section that would lull him back to sleep.
As he leafed through the file, Irvine's attention was caught by the subject heading: ANIMAL COMMUNICATION/FAMILIARS.
Vonnie was always crazy about animals. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips at the thought. Propping the file open on his lap, Irvine began to read.
ANIMAL COMMUNICATION/FAMILIARS
This is one of the more common talents, possessed by 84.3% of the specimens examined. The subjects exhibited the ability to convey simple messages to animal allies by means of a mental link similar, but not identical to, the sorceress-knight bond. Although unwilling to discuss this ability, under interrogation, the subjects did reveal that communication with lesser species was accomplished through the mental projection of visual images. Apparently, communication may occur with domestic, feral, or wild species; however, each subject appears to have varying degrees of rapport with particular species. For example, subject #S7352J was best able to communicate with feline species such as house cats, tigers, toramas, etc., and had little rapport with other species. Other subjects exhibited other "specialties."
This talent has also been linked with the legend of the witch's familiar. Most of the subjects possessing this ability bonded with a common domestic species--most famously, cats--but other species were also used: dogs, birds, rodents. In some subjects, familiar-type bonds were made with wild species such as otters, leopards, or wolves.
Irvine blinked at the printed page lying so innocuously on his lap. Such an innocent looking object, yet it had just changed his entire reality.
********************
"Mistral…" Irvine mused, smiling slightly. "Why Mistral?"
Siobhan cuddled the small furry body against her chest. "Because when I look at him, I see snow-covered steppes, and I feel the sharpness of cold mountain winds." She laughed at the dramatic sound of her own words.
Irvine quirked an eyebrow dubiously at the orphaned wolf cub. "All that from this little guy?" he asked, scratching the cub behind the ears.
"Yeah," Vonnie said, grinning. "Besides, he told me that was his name."
The gunman laughed and threw an arm around the redhead's shoulders as the couple walked back to the house with their new housemate.
********************
Very clever, Vonnie, he thought. Clever of you to hide in plain sight like that.
Irvine mentally kicked himself for not putting the pieces together sooner. Fuck's sake, he'd lived with the woman for four years--how could he not have seen what she was? Either Vonnie was incredibly brilliant, or he was exceptionally stupid. Probably the latter.
The gunman leaned forward, propping his forehead on his hands. Weariness washed over him, followed almost immediately by rage. Irvine had never had much pride--he'd been the butt of Fate's perverse sense of humor for far too long to have any illusions along those lines. Perhaps that's why he was so fiercely protective of what little he did possess. And now, the woman he'd loved for nearly four years had ground that into dust as well.
Clenching his hands into fists, the gunman knuckled his throbbing temples, grinding his teeth together to bite back the howl of fury and pain that he felt building up inside him. Four years…he'd loved Vonnie for nearly four years, and in all that time, he'd never really even known her. He'd abandoned his assignment, made himself into a fugitive, ruined his life--again--and all for a stranger…for a sorceress…an enemy.
The train slowed as it approached Deling Station, and a mechanical voice announced the estimated arrival time of ten minutes. Irvine numbly gathered his gear and prepared for debarking. His anger had by now mellowed into a deep depression. He'd traveled a long way--for nothing, as it turned out. There was no point in going to Jared's now; he didn't think he could forgive Vonnie for her deception--and she didn't seem to want him around any more anyway.
SO YOU'RE JUST GOING TO GIVE UP? Diablos asked impatiently. YOU'RE NOT EVEN GOING TO HEAR HER SIDE?
Why the fuck should I? What excuse could she possibly have for lying to me--for USING me for four fucking years?
PERHAPS A BETTER ONE THAN YOU KNOW, Cerberus 2 grumbled.
Did you know about this? The GFs' calm acceptance of Siobhan's true nature made Irvine suddenly suspicious.
WE…SUSPECTED, Cerberus 1 admitted, BUT WE HAD NO REAL KNOWLEDGE. AND WE SENSED NO DANGER TO YOU--OTHERWISE WE WOULD HAVE WARNED YOU OF OUR SUSPICIONS.
YOU'VE COME ALL THIS WAY, Cerberus 3 added, WHY TURN AWAY NOW? WHY NOT GO ON?
Sighing wearily, Irvine collected his gear and strode toward the passenger car's exit.
Might as well, he thought bitterly, It's not like I have anywhere else to go.
As Irvine stepped onto the darkened platform, mocking feminine laughter seemed to echo through his consciousness. Fate was, after all, a female--which was probably why She'd always given him so much trouble.
********************
A/N: Oy! Writing this chapter was like having root canal without anaesthetic. Particularly the last section--the cowboy was NOT being very cooperative. Plus, it seemed like his about-face on whether or not to confront Siobhan happened a bit too abruptly…oh well…[sigh].
A Voice in the Wind: You'll just have to keep reading to find out if Seifer is a hero or a villain, 'cos [nyah-nyah voice] I'm not gonna tell yooo! [nyah-nyah voice]. His POV will come up in the next chapter or so, though, so you won't be kept in suspense for too long. Heh heh heh…
YuriNigasa: Thankees ever so for the kind words and for plugging my fic in your own very excellent "The Oath". I'm EXTREMELY flattered! [blushes, kicks an imaginary pebble]. ^___^
Ashi: I'm glad you like the humor inserts--seems like I just can't keep away from silliness entirely. After all, the other fic I'm working on is humor/parody--and I guess some of that just seeps through into this one.
Irvine: [cough] Bi-polar! [cough]
Q: Pphhhttt! You're just mad because haven't gotten laid.
Irvine: Yeah…what the hell was up with that opening dream sequence? That scared the crap out of me!
Q: [rolls eyes] You'll live.